An Unlikely Love Remastered
by Ziechan
Summary: By his hands the androids had fallen, and just when he had thought the world was safe, he had stumbled upon her. Golden blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and a prettiness that he had only seen in one other...in Android 18, and he knew she had to die.
1. Running Scared

**Author's Note:** This is an AU Future Trunks timeline. Please remember this was written for my enjoyment, and if you receive enjoyment as well, that is wonderful! However I didn't think about what everyone else would enjoy when writing it, so please don't hate on me if you don't like the way I the story goes, or my habit to be descriptive. Please don't be afraid of all the text!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragon Ball Z, or any of the characters that reside in the Dragon Ball universe. They were created by the masterful Akira Toyiyama, and belong to him and whoever he sells them too. Any character created by myself are mine, however I don't really care if anyone, for whatever reason, has the desire to use them. I doubt that will happen, but still! ^_^

**An Unlikely Love**

_ Her mother was laughing. She could hear the soft, rich sound as it reached her from the adjoining bedroom. Crawling from her bed, her small feet quiet on the floor, two blonde pigtails bouncing with each step, she slowly crept toward the door. Her nightgown danced around her ankles as she raised her arm and twisted the doorknob, testing it first in one direction, and then in the other. She had only just learned to open doors by herself, and still found it difficult to master, especially in the dim light of her bedroom. Finally, with a deep breath, she gave the knob one final twist and the door gave away, pushed open by the weight of her small body pressed against it._

_ Marron went tumbling to the floor in a heap of small limps. She had barely managed a surprised gasp before Juuhachi swept her up off the floor and into her cradled arms, soothing her as she returned her to her bedroom. "Shh, Marron. Silly girl, what are you doing out of bed? I told you that mama and uncle are busy tonight. You have to be a good girl and stay in bed, no playing tonight." Her tone was that of a loving mother, stern but caring._

"_You were playing, though, mama." Marron said, frowning sadly up at Juu as she tucked the covers back around her._

"_What do you mean, baby?" Juuhachi soothed back the small wisps' that had broken free from their pony tails, gently stroking her daughters head._

"_You were playing with all the red paint, mama." Marron ran a small hand down her mother's cheek, and then offered her palm to her mother as proof. "You have it all over your face."_

_ Juuhachi looked down into her daughter's small hand and something inside her, though she couldn't have said what it was, ached. These human emotions, she thought with both anger and sadness, were a bane. She could not have told anyone why, for she didn't know herself, but at the sight of the red smear upon her child's palm, she felt…sickened. She had no misconceptions of who she was, of what she was created to do, but she had vowed upon giving birth to this child, this miracle that should never have been given life, that she would shield it from what she was._

"_Mama was painting the city red," Juuhachi mumbled against her daughters forehead as she planted a quick kiss, "Now go back to sleep, love."_

* * *

><p>The city of Satan had long ago been destroyed, and what remained of the city was practically a wasteland. Buildings that had once stood tall and gleaming were skeletons of their former selves, their walls covered in the graffiti of the gangs that roamed, consisting mostly of abandoned or orphaned children who grew up uneducated and troubled. People still remained; those who had managed to survive the android attacks and the hardships of the aftermath, living in broken down apartments and buildings, refusing or simply too tired to move to one of the many shelters in the neighboring towns. They continued to try and forge a life for themselves, for their families, to try and rebuild what had been taken from them, but so few still had the hope to actually accomplish what they dreamed. In this very town, amongst the broken down rubble, is where our story begins.<p>

Under a fallen bridge, wrapped in several tattered and dingy blankets, a tiny form slept, twisting to and fro in her dreams. At first one would assume the small body belonged to that of a little girl with a dirt smudged face and low hanging, tangled pigtails, but as she moved in her sleep, slowly undoing her covers, it was clear that her body was not that of a child's, but that of a young woman's - a rather petite, fragile looking young woman. Her face grew sad in her sleep, her lips tipping downward, "No, mama, don't go…"

Blue eyes flickered open as she let out a small sob, her knees coming up to her chest and her arms wrapping herself together. She tried to fight the tears that threatened to spill over, to fight the sadness that welled in her heart each time she dreamt of her mother. What she would have given to feel safe once more in her mother's arms, even for just a few moments. Tucked into a ball, she waited for the waves of emotions to pass, waited for the pounding in her heart to soothe. Slowly her breathing returned to normal, her eyes dried, and color – what little color she still had – returned to her face.

Drawing in a steady breath she unwound herself from her arms and blankets and set up, her eyes taking in the fallen pieces of the bridge. For what she could tell she was alone, but often she thought the same thing only to turn around and find him there, waiting for the perfect moment to break her neck. Standing, Marron stood and started gathering her things. She folded the dirty and stained blankets as if they were precious and placed them gently into her backpack, directly on top of an old jean jacket and a faded red bandana. Zipping the bag, she had nearly slid it over her shoulders when she heard the sound of footsteps. She froze, her breath catching in her lungs, her face caught in terror.

Directly above her, on what remained of the bridge, was the sound of quiet steps, and over the years, she had learned quiet steps were the ones to be weary of. He was silent, moving with a stealth and speed she had never seen before. It was rare that she heard him coming, rare that she saw him before he was in front of her, but she did not want to take the chance. One chance and she could be dead, discarded and broken like her mother had been, like her uncle. She often wondered if he was an android, like the ones the townsfolk talked about, if he was one of the things that had destroyed her world. Marron knew she could not stay where she was, as she was an easy target from the three different entrances into her hideout. She usually knew better then to choose such an easy accessible place to sleep, but she had been exhausted the night before after leaving the other side of town and had simply wanted to stop.

The bridge had been a happy sight then. She could sleep beneath the rubble and go unnoticed by those passing by. Now, as she stood pressed up against the very wall she had slept again, Marron wished she hadn't of been so foolish. The footsteps moved, and to Marron they sounded as if they were closing in on her. She guessed the person was standing directly above her now, and her heart caught in her throat. _Please Kami_, she thought, her eyes closing tightly, _please let him leave._

A voice suddenly broke through her terror, and Marron had to concentrate to make out what it was saying. Not because it was quiet, but because she had been so intent on listening only for the footsteps, she had closed everything else off. "Found you, Makota! You're it now!" The footsteps were suddenly loud as the children ran away to play, their laughter trailing behind them. Marron fought for breath. She felt as if she was choking, and on whether it was a sob or a laugh, she didn't know. It had not been the lavender haired man with the cruel eyes and twisted mouth. She drew in a shaky breath and willed her fists to unfold, trying desperately to calm herself.

Shrugging her arm through the second strap on her backpack, Marron glanced around the dirty shelter that had been her home for the evening, and longed for the warm, colorful room from when she was a little girl. She missed the warmth and comfort of having a home. Willing herself to be strong, she walked through the widest hole of her hideout leading into the city.

* * *

><p>Her stomach was growling, but then again, it often growled, especially because she rarely had anything to eat. This probably had something to do with the fact that she didn't have any money to purchase any in the even rarer event that someone was selling anything remotely edible. The pain of not eating, however, was as constant a companion as the growling was, and so she had simply learned to push the feeling aside and keep moving; to put her mind elsewhere so she didn't think of her hunger. So Marron sang a song she had learned from her mother – a song her mother had said she had learned in a previous life. Marron had never understood what that meant, but that didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore, except staying alive, and sometimes… she wasn't even sure why she did that.<p>

"Got up this morning on the right side of the bed, these crazy thoughts running through my head," Marron sang as she followed the broken road, stepping over fallen trees and picking her way through huge piles of beams that had once been buildings. She tried to imagine the city as it had once been, in its entire splendor, like in the torn pieces of magazine pages she had seen, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to form the image in her head. She had never seen a city like the ones she had seen in pictures. She had grown up in a nice place, but it had not been a city… it had only been a building, a building larger than any she had ever seen since she had been forced to leave it.

"I can't wait to see what this world holds for me. It feels so good to be alive," Marron smiled, losing herself in the song, "even if a little rain should fall, because it's a neeeeeew daaaaay!" Climbing over a boulder, Marron paused to look around, realizing she was finally on the outskirts of the city. The sun had risen high into the sky, and she guessed it had to be sometime in the afternoon. Raising her face to the sky, she let the feel of the sun soak her through to her bones. Winter was coming; she could feel it during the evenings, when night was beginning to creep over the city. The days were getting darker sooner, the nights longer. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she knew she had to find somewhere safe before the first snow fall.

With that thought she started walking again, following the highway as it lead the last few miles out-of-town. She wondered what she would find next. The town had been a welcome sight after she had spent so much time trekking through the forest, but soon the broken down buildings had lost their appeal, and she wanted nothing more than to leave the decaying city and its people with their shattered dreams. Lost in her thoughts, it took Marron several moments to register the sound of falling rocks. The sound of them tumbling down, knocking into other fallen stones as they made their downward topple toward the ground.

She froze for a moment, but instinct kicked in a moment later and she took off. She was not in the safety of a fallen building; she was a target, out in the open. She would not stand around to be murdered; she would at least be a moving target. She ran with all the speed her tired, hungry body could muster, her heart pumping, her adrenaline taking over. She didn't want to die. No matter what happened, she just didn't want to die… but he was so much faster than she was.

She saw the blur of him, nothing more than movements that were too fast for her to register, and then she felt the pain as she was sent flying backwards, back toward the city she had been escaping. She landed in a pile of rubble, the ground breaking up around her as she made contact with the torn cement. She had been kicked, she realized, her adrenaline numbing the pain. _Get up, Marron! Fight! _She could hear her mother's voice just as she had sounded when she had been training Marron. To teach her to use ki, something she herself could neither use nor feel. It had been the hardest thing Marron had ever had to endure with her mother, and she hadn't understood then why her mother thought it was necessary for her to learn how to protect herself.

In the last five months, however, she had come to understand. Somehow her mother had known there would come a day when Marron would have to protect herself, a day when she herself would not be there to protect her. Marron would never know it, but Juuhachi had known that her brother and she would not be around forever. The boy, every time they faced him, was changed, stronger then he had been the time before. They remained the same, with the same strength and speed they had been made with. They would not evolve, they would not grow stronger, but the boy, the Saiyan, he would one day become stronger than they were, and he would kill them. Marron, a human, was fragile, and despite what she was, Juuhachi loved her daughter. These human emotions, as her brother often said, but even he himself had grown to love the child of his sister.

Marron let out a wheeze of breath and forced herself to get back on her feet. _I am not going to die_, Marron thought fiercely, _I will not die!_ She started running, forgetting the fact that she had been starving a moment ago, forgetting the fact that her body felt heavy and tired. She ran with a speed that mirrored her fathers, though she had never known him – never seen him, and could never guess that they were similar in the least. Never guess that from somewhere in the afterlife, he watched her, and was proud that he had fathered this child, even if her mother had become his downfall. Marron's mind became focused, her eyes searching out the form of the lavender haired devil that tormented her.

She found him only a second before he landed a punch to her back, and she managed to dodge the assault with a quick sidestep, moving directly into a round house kick as she twirled on him. Catching him off guard, the kick landed squarely against his upper chest, sending him spiraling backward in the air. If she hadn't been so focused on simply trying to out maneuver him, she might have felt pride at the fact that she had managed to hurt him. Not wanting to give him the time to recover, she immediately went on the attack. Her arm came out above her head, and with all the strength she could muster, she yelled, "SOOOLAARR DIIISSSSK!" A bright yellow, swirling disk appeared in the open palm of her hand, and with a quick slashing movement she sent it spinning toward him.

* * *

><p><em> Fuck.<em> His chest burned from the kick, but the pain lasted no more than a second before he forgot about it, his mind focused on his purpose. He had come to eliminate the android's offspring, and this time, he was going to finish it. His head snapped up as soon as he heard her yell, but instead of trying to dodge the attack he flew toward it, toward her, and just as it seemed like he would collide with the disk, that it would tear right through him, he simply moved. One moment he was directly in its path, the next he was gone. He heard her gasp of surprise and couldn't help the smirk that raised the corner of his mouth. It was only a recently learned ability, but one he was finding extremely useful.

Fist balled, he brought his arm back, and his ki rising, he threw it into her face. Before she fit the ground he grabbed her by the back of her grimy, worn shirt and tossed her into the air. Following suit, he flew after her, hurling his knee into her stomach. The quick catch of her breath as she tried to draw air brought a satisfied gleam to his eyes. His fist balled once again, he bought his elbow hard into the middle of her back and this time let her fall back to the ground with a loud thud. Her body sent up dust around her as she landed, and he grinned at her feeble attempt to stand up.

"Now you'll die," his voice was harsh, as it always was when he spoke to her, his hatred for the androids clear in his tone, "for everything your filthy, disgusting mother did. For every person she murdered, for everyone person she took from me, you'll pay just as she did, just as that stupid fucking piece of scrap metal of her brother did." Bringing his hands to his side, he summoned all his energy to the core of himself, his body already forming the attack his mouth had yet to speak. "Kaameee," he breathed deeply, drawing in energy as he spoke, "Haaaameeee," a yellowish orange light begun to grow in his hand, and with each syllable he uttered the sphere grew in size, "HA!"

* * *

><p>Marron hit the ground with a loud thud, and she felt as if her entire body had been broken. <em>It isn't fair,<em> she thought numbly, _that he could fly_. Her mother had tried to explain to her the fundamentals of flying but no matter how hard she tried, it was the one ability she had not been able to master. She imagined that it had something to do with her irrational fear of heights. Though, to be perfectly honest, it had never felt irrational to her. People truly did die from falling from high places, so shouldn't the fear of heights be a rational fear? She fought to find some strength inside herself to stand up. She was tired, and hungry, and now she felt as if she had broken nearly every bone in her entire body, but she didn't want to die. She didn't want to give up, but she just… she couldn't will herself to move.

Then she heard the words that fell so callously from his mouth and her anger was flared. Her mother, and her uncle, she had loved them with every bit of her young heart. They had been her entire world, the only people she had ever known for nearly nineteen years. To her, they were her everything, and this… this monster had stolen them from her. She listened to his lies and her anger grew. Her mother and uncle would never have hurt anyone! They would never have murdered anyone, she was sure of it. They had never hurt her; they had never even yellowed at her…

She heard him speaking now, and knew that he was going to use that blast she had only just narrowly missed the last time the two of them had fought. The blast that had torn the earth where she had been standing seconds before into a crater. _I don't want to die! Get up and fight, Marron! GET UP! _Marron mentally yelled at herself, willing herself to find the energy, the strength, to find anything inside herself that would allow her to continue living. She slowly struggled to her knees, pushing off the ground, her hands digging into the dirt. "I have to get up," She muttered to herself, tears streaming down her face. She wasn't sure why she was crying. Maybe it was the pain that radiated throughout her body, maybe it was the fear that threatened to overwhelm her, or maybe it was simply because she had to release the built up sadness that she had been storing inside the deepest corners of herself.

Fighting the need to give up, she climbed unsteadily to her feet, knowing she had only one chance to get this right. If she failed, she would die, she had no misconceptions. She could not survive this attack, she was too weak, too tired… she wouldn't have the energy to recover, she would simply fade away into the afterlife. She waited until he uttered those last syllables, until his hands flew out from his side and guided the blast to where she was standing. She ran, as fast as she could, away from the blast, away from him, giving her just enough room to turn around, to watch as the blast broke the earth with a bright yellow light. This was her chance, her only chance. Her hands flew to her forehead, level on either side, and, her eyes closing, she yelled, pulling everything she had left inside herself, everything she could give, "SOOOOLAAAAR FLAAAARE!"

The light was blinding, covering the entire surrounding area in a bright, white light. She didn't bother to open her eyes; she knew she wouldn't be able to see. Where he was, what he was doing, she didn't care, all she knew was that he wouldn't be able to see, either. No one would be able to see. She turned away from the battle, not caring in what direction she was running as long as it was away, and ran, pushing herself, pushing her body to move at a speed she had never before been able to reach. She could feel the ground underneath her grow rocky and she knew she was heading back into town, back into the broken city she had wanted to leave. Believing herself far enough away from the fight, she opened her eyes and frantically searched the area for some place to hide. The first thing that caught her interest was a broken down office building, and she ran for it, climbing through the busted window, not bothering to stop when her skirt snagged on a piece of glass and ripped.

Sliding behind a tipped over file cabinet, she wedged herself between it and the wall, willing herself to calm down, willing her ki to drop. For her, this was the hardest of everything her mother had taught her, as Juuhachi had not been able to feel or sense her daughter's ki. Closing her eyes, she let her mind slip away, let herself drift into happy, calming memories. Her breath evened out, and body relaxed, and before Marron knew it, she was fast asleep, her head resting back against the wall. She had been running on pure adrenaline and as her body and mind loosened up, and the fight or flight mentality left her, she had no more energy to stay awake. She drifted off into nothingness, into the bliss of her dreams, which was a truly a blessing, because her body was screaming in agony.

* * *

><p>The night was covered in bright, shimming stars, the large moon but a half crescent in the sky sending its light down on earth. Marron awoke to the feeling of her entire body throbbing. Every inch of her ached, and she wanted nothing more than to simply fall into a laying position and drift off back to sleep. Even after all the hours that had past, she was still exhausted. She didn't want to move, let alone stand up and start on her journey again, but she had fought for a purpose, and that purpose had been to stay alive. She had learned better then to stay in one place to long. She had outstayed her welcome in Satan City, which was clear by the fact that he had found her. So often she was able to just avoid him by simply staying on the move, traveling from place and place and rarely staying long enough to make friends. She had made that mistake in Satan City.<p>

She had not made friends, but she had spoken to a few people on occasion when she craved human companionship. What had made her stay longer than she should was the abandoned house she had stumbled upon while searching the city. Once upon a time she could tell the house had been loved. Though everything inside was broken and dirty and had long ago been forgotten, she had felt as if she had found a place she would like to stay. She had moved in with the thought that she would only stay for a couple of days, that she would rest up until she felt strong enough to leave, and then she would continue on. After a while, she had simply forgotten to leave, and had ended up spending nearly a month, three weeks longer then she had ever spent in any location. Two days ago she had woken up and realized she needed to leave. A nightmare chased her from the few comforts the house had offered and back into the dirty city.

She had made the decision to leave town and the very next day he had found her. Sighing, Marron slowly stood, using the wall as a crutch to lean against. Her legs felt weak and wobbly, but she forced herself to stand anyway. Pushing away from the wall, she nearly fell back to the ground, but catching herself, she slowly waited until she regained her balance, giving her legs time to adjust to the weight of her body once more. Taking a deep breath and ignoring the pain that shot through her with each step, she exited the building the same way she had came in. The city was dark, quiet, and Marron had to think a moment to try and figure out where exactly she was, and how to get back to where she had been. Though she had little hope of finding her backpack, she had to try. What little remained of her life was in it.

Deciding on the right direction, she started walking, slowly at first, but building speed as her legs grew numb to the pain. She was used to feeling pain now, had grown to accept it these last few months. It took her nearly an hour to reach the location in which their fight had taken place, and as soon as she arrived she began searching the rubble for her bag. Through piles of stones and dirt she looked, tipping over large pieces of toppled buildings until she found it nestled in between a turned over bench and a light post. She signed, relieved, and pulled the backpack over her shoulders. Weary, she turned back toward the road that lead out of the city and stared out into the darkness. She was just about to start walking again when she heard the sound of tumbling rocks crashing against stones as they made their plummet to the ground. For one second she thought about just giving up, allowing herself only one second to wallow in her pain and her sorrow before she turned around, her hand raising in the air, "Solar Disk—" Her words fell short as she turned around and the sight before her was not what she had suspected. It was not her lavender haired devil.

Standing upon a small hill of broken cement and earth was a tiny child, his body covered in filth and clothed only by a pair of rather tattered looking underwear that had possibly once been white; atop his head his dark hair was matted with dirt. She stood frozen in her spot, unsure at first what to do. She had seen many children over the months, though they had been older, and had traveled in a gang rather than alone. This child, with his huge, frightened eyes, stood upon the makeshift mound alone. Looking at him, seeing the fear in his eyes, the downward title of his small lips, Marron couldn't bring herself to leave him. He looked half starved, as if he too had not eaten in quite some time, and Marron could sympathize with his pain, though she imagined for a child it was much different. She had never known hunger as a little girl, and something inside her ached at the idea that there were children all over that did.

She wasn't sure if she should speak or not, if she should move toward him or not. She could hardly take care of herself, she didn't know what she would do with another person to protect, but nothing inside her would allow her to leave this child, this infant behind. From the sight of him, she imagined he was no older than three, though she couldn't be certain. Hesitantly she took a step forward, and then stopped as soon as she saw him cower back. He watched her with his haunting eyes, his hands tucked under his chin, and Marron suddenly felt helpless for an entirely different reason then she normally did. Kneeling down to his level, even though he stood taller than her with his advantage of the hill, she offered him a friendly smile. "Hello," Marron crooned in a soft, quiet tone, "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."

The little boy tilted his head, as if pondering her words, and Marron hoped even if he could not understand her, he would hear in her voice that she meant him no harm. Slowly she opened her arms, and though she didn't know if her arms were strong enough to hold him, it looked as if he could use a pair of them wrapped around him, holding him, protecting him, even if those arms happened to be hers. He seemed to think this over, as if he was truly weighing the pros and cons, and then suddenly came rushing down the mountain, his bare feet quick even as he crossed over the debris. He was in her arms in a minute, his arms wrapping around her neck even before she could close her own around him. Pulling him close against her body, offering him her body heat, she slowly rocked back and forth. In her arms, feeling him, she could tell he was only skin and bones. Her heart ached as she wondered who could possibly leave this child, helpless and defenseless, alone to fend for himself.

She stood, and the little boy's arms became tighter around her neck, as if he feared she might put him down. Wrapping one arm under his butt, making a small seat for him, she held him close and gently patted his back, "Shh, it's okay little one, it's okay…" Looking around, she was once again torn as to where to go. If this child had simply lost his family, she didn't want to leave the city in fear they might be looking for him. The only light in any of the buildings close to her was coming from what looked like it used to be a convenient store, and so Marron started toward it, hoping who was ever inside might know the child she carried in her arms. As they walked his head fell to her shoulder, and Marron wondered if he was simply very still and quiet, or if he had fallen asleep.

She knocked quietly, not knowing what time it could be, and not wanting to wake those who might be sleeping inside. A woman answered the door, dressed in an old, faded dress, her face weary with age. Marron gave her a tired smile, "I…" Marron started, cleared her throat, and then started again, "I'm really sorry to bother you, but I just found this child, and I was wondering if perhaps—" The women shook her head and spoke up before Marron could finish.

"I can't take any more children," She muttered, and opened the door a little wider to reveal the makeshift beds on the floor, and with what Marron quickly counted, had to be seven children.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry," Marron said quickly, "I wasn't trying to give him to you, and I was just wondering if you might know who he is? If perhaps he has any parents?"

The woman pulled gently on the boys underwear until he turned to face her, and she nodded quickly, "I've seen him around the neighborhood, even fed him a few times, but I can hardly feed the children I already have without someone going to bed hungry. Anymore, and my husband just won't allow it. The boy though, he just showed up one day by himself, never saw anyone else with him, and if he belongs to someone, they certainly aren't taking care of him." The sound of a child whimpering filled the doorway, and the woman smiled sadly, "I'm sorry, I have to go." Marron tried to understand this woman's plight. She didn't think she could ever allow a child to go hungry, or without a place to sleep, but then again, she was not in this woman's predicament. She could not pass judgment fairly.

The door closed and Marron, sighing, turned back around and scanned the distance. She knew she had to leave town, there was no other option, and she knew she couldn't leave the child alone. She would simply have to take him with her and pray to Kami that she wouldn't be leading him into danger. Kneeling down again, she gently set him on his feet, but as soon as she had released him he threw his arms around her neck again and held on, afraid that she would leave him. Marron's heart caught in her throat, and she had to take a deep breath in order to keep her tears at bay. How a parent could leave their child, she didn't know. She wasn't this little boy's mother, and she had only known him for moments, but even she could not stand to leave him behind.

"Shh, listen, I promise I'm not going to leave you, okay? I need to put you down for a second though so I can open my bag, alright? Just one minute." He raised his face from her shoulder and looked into her eyes, as if he was trying to find out if she was being honest with him. Finally his arms came down and he blobbed over on his butt, his thumb finding his mouth as he looked up at her, watching her every movement. Marron slid her backpack from her shoulders and set it in front of her, unzipping the zipper as soon as she set it down. She pulled out one of the dirty blankets she had folded this morning and then the jean jacket that had rested at the bottom of her backpack since she had started running. Reaching over, she gently plucked her new ward off the ground and set him down in front of her, and though the jacket was meant for an adult, and obviously too large for him, she slid his little arms into the holes, rolled them up as far as she could get them, and then wrapped him tightly in the blanket. Rezipping the pack, she put it back on before picking him up once more.

Settled this time at her hip, Marron turned toward the little boy and offered him a small smile, "Do you have a name, honey?" He only shook his head in response.

"Well then," Marron said, and took a moment to think, "How about we call you Kiyoshi? I believe it means quiet, and it's possibly the most fitting name possible." This time, as Marron turned toward the highway leading out-of-town, she was not alone.


	2. Truth's Revealed

**Author's Note:** Anyone want to be my beta reader? I try to find and fix all the errors myself... but sometimes you read what you think you see, and not what is actually there because you know the story by heart!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Dragon Ball Z, or any of the characters that reside in the Dragon Ball universe. They were created by the masterful Akira Toyiyama, and belong to him and whoever he sells them too. Any character created by myself are mine, however I don't really care if anyone, for whatever reason, has the desire to use them. I doubt that will happen, but still! ^_^

**An Unlikely Love**

The sun was rising by the time the two of them had reached the "Now Leaving Satan City, Please Come Back Again!" sign. Kiyoshi had long since fallen asleep, his body like dead weight in Marron's aching arms. She wanted nothing more than to sit down and rest, to let the burn in her arms seep away even if just for a few minutes, but she knew she didn't have the time for such pleasures. She had to put space between Satan City and herself, and she had to do it now. She didn't just have herself to think about, she now had Kiyoshi, and if that man was to show up and try and kill her, with him in her arms, she wasn't sure she would be able to protect him. It was in her best interest to continue walking, and so Marron did, her feet dragging against the pavement, her body fatigued. She needed to eat, and she knew the child in her arms also needed nourishment. If they continued on like they were, she was afraid they would perish not at the hands of the devil, but because they had simply wasted away from starvation. She had not eaten in two days, and as for Kiyoshi, she had no idea when he had last filled his belly.

She was passing the sign when she noticed the bottom of it was covered in papers. Drawing closer, she realized they were all different. Some of them were posters of families looking for their lost loved ones, others letting people know which towns had been completely destroyed and which ones were trying to rebuild, and the others were posters offering shelter and protection. It was one of these posters that caught her eye. All the others had been done in pen or pencil, hastily written as they were passing through, but this poster stood out amongst the rest. It was a picture, like the ones she had seen in magazines, of a huge building – larger even then the one she had grown up in – with families standing outside it, smiling, waving, and looking as if they were happy. She stared at it for a moment, wondering if such a place truly existed, or if this was something left over from the world before it had been destroyed. It was offering the chance to rebuild, though, to find a new start, and Marron couldn't imagine that they could be talking about anything else other then the android attacks.

The directions on the flyer were easy to follow, and Marron turned to face east, wondering exactly how far away this place would be, and if it was far enough away that perhaps the devil wouldn't find her. Looking one last time at the flyer, making sure she read the directions correctly, Marron shifted the little boy in her arms, prayed for strength, and started toward a place called Capsule Corporations. If luck was on her side she would find at place to rest for a while without having to worry about whether she or Kiyoshi would go hungry, at least until she felt the need to run again.

* * *

><p><em>I am going to fall<em>, Marron thought, as she tried desperately to keep standing, to keep walking. Kiyoshi had awakened nearly an hour ago, and though she didn't want him walking bare foot as he was, she simply did not have the strength to hold him any longer. It was taking everything that was left inside her to simply keep walking, and her pace had slowed down considerably. If she was attacked Marron knew she would die. She might have the will and the want to fight, but she didn't have the energy. She couldn't even imagine trying to call forth a solar disk in a weak attempt to protect herself. The only thing that was keeping her walking at the moment was the small hand in hers, which was gently pulling her along as he walked. She didn't know how he managed it, as she knew he couldn't have any more energy than she did. He had to be starving, and thirsty, but somehow Kiyoshi kept walking forward, and so Marron kept walking forward with him.

"Building!" Marron nearly stumbled when she heard the words, her heart jumping into her throat, and it took her what felt like several minutes to come to her senses and realize they were still alone and that Kiyoshi himself had uttered the spoken words. So fixated on him, she didn't register, or see, what he had been saying. Her hand slipped from his, and as soon as the contact was broken, he turned around and stared up at her with wide eyes. Marron wondered absently if he would always carry that worried look in his eyes.

"You can talk?" She muttered dumbly and knelt down before him. She was trying to smile, and she might have been, she wasn't sure. She truly couldn't tell as her body had nearly gone completely numb. She had not been able to stop and nurse the wounds she had received the day before, and much of her body she had simply stopped thinking about. It was as if she didn't even have limps.

Kiyoshi stared up at her with those big worried eyes for a moment before a smile tipped his little lips and he nodded, "Kiyoshi talk." Reaching for her hand once more, he gave her a gentle pull and Marron didn't have the strength to resist, or the urge, so she simply followed after him. Once they were moving again he raised his small hand into the air and pointed, "Building!"

This time Marron followed his tiny hand to where he was pointing and drew in a quick, surprised breath, her eyes going wide. She hadn't been able to see it because she hadn't been looking up, but hidden behind the trees in her path stood a large building. Only the top was visible over the trees and the fence, but what she could see was like nothing she had ever seen before. She had seen tall buildings in all different states of ruin, but never had seen one shine as this one did. This was not a building that had simply been converted into a shelter. Someone took care of this place, loved this place, and Marron found herself wanting to know what the inside looked like. She followed behind Kiyoshi, their footsteps a little quicker than they had previous been. Marron felt as if she was being propelled forward, as if something stronger then the little boy who held her hand was pulling her along. They rounded the fence and Marron was caught in the full effect of the building. The domed top, the glistening windows, the well kept lawn; these were only things she had ever seen in pictures.

She would never know where the strength came from, but she scooped Kiyoshi up into her arms and her stride quickened even further until they were standing directly in front of the building and could see the people through the windows moving about. She stood there for a moment, cuddling Kiyoshi against her chest, the both of them filthy and wearing rags and she suddenly felt shame. She knew she shouldn't, knew it was hardly her fault for the condition of her clothing, for the condition of Kiyoshi, that she didn't have many options when it came to clothing in the first place and that she took what she could get, but still she felt the hot burn of shame. It was a feeling, however, that was not going to keep her from going inside and asking for help. Begging, if she was honest, and if that's what it came down to.

Taking a deep breath, Marron walked up to the doors and pulled one of them open; she was instantly met by the warm air inside. She let go of the door and let it swing close behind her, basking in the warmth. It had been a long time since she had felt the warmth of a heated home. Several people glanced at her from the corner of their eyes as they passed, but no one stopped to ask her questions, to wonder why she was here, and Marron supposed that they already knew. Looking around, Marron ran a soothing hand down Kiyoshi's back as she tried to figure what exactly she was supposed to do first. She noticed a front desk with a 'Weclcome!' sign in front and decided this appeared to be the best choice. Collecting her emotions and her thoughts, she headed, and stopped, in front of the desk. "Hi," Marron said, uncertain, a small smile on her face.

"Hello, and welcome to Capsule Corporation." The woman behind the desk smiled pleasantly, and Marron suddenly felt at ease. She thought, maybe, that they saw a great many of people that happened to look exactly like Kiyoshi and she did at this minute. "Are you looking for a place to stay, or do you perchance need assistance in any other way? We offer assistance with food, clothing, and job training."

"Oh," Marron thought for a moment, looked at Kiyoshi, and then back at the woman. "We would love a place to stay," she paused, frowned, and wondered if perhaps it was asking for too much if you asked for more than one of those choices, "but, well, we could also really use food and clothing…" Marron blushed.

The woman smiled widely at her and nodded, "Of course, anyone who is given board here at Capsule Corporation will also receive food, clothing, and job training."

"Oh," Marron said lamely, nodding. "Then please, we would love to come and stay."

"Of course," The woman stood and walked behind another desk, pulling out several forms of paper and bringing them back. Adding a clipboard and a pen to the pile, she handed them over to Marron and pointed to a row of chairs along the wall. Several other people were sitting down, filling out paperwork, and Marron could see a few were dressed no better than Kiyoshi and herself were, though perhaps they were a bit cleaner.

"Thank you," Marron inclined her head before starting toward the row of chairs and taking a seat. Sitting Kiyoshi down in one beside her, she arranged the papers on the clipboard and clicked the pen. She wrote 'Marron' where it asked for her name, and 'Unknown' where it asked for her last name, repeating the same for Kiyoshi where it asked if she had any children. If Marron had a last name, she certainly didn't know it, and as for Kiyoshi, well, she didn't even know his given name. Whether Kiyoshi was hers or not, Marron wasn't sure if she was supposed to say, but there were no lines to list anyone that wasn't in your family. She finished the application quickly, as there were very few things that she could actually fill in. She did not know her birthday, nor did she know his, and she did not know whether either of them was allergic to anything. When she returned the application to the woman, most of it had been left blank. After apologizing the woman told her that it was fine, that many people did not know all of the information asked. While her data was being entered she was asked to return to her seat and that when a room could be readied, someone would call her name.

* * *

><p>"Excuse miss, are you Marron?"<p>

Marron wasn't sure how long they waited, as she had fallen asleep in her seat with Kiyoshi in her arms, but she was stirred from her dreams by the sound of someone calling her name. Groggily she forced her eyes open despite the fact she wanted nothing more than to keep them closed and muttered something rather incoherent. She felt Kiyoshi shift in her arms and slowly she realized where she was. Rubbing her eyes with the hand that was not wrapped around Kiyoshi's stomach, she stood slowly and nodded. "Yes, sorry, I am Marron."

"Wonderful. If you could please follow me we've got your room ready." Marron nodded and followed the woman, whose name tag read Beth past two large double doors which closed soundly behind her. While they walked, Beth talked, telling her about the building, about the rules, and how things were done here at Capsule Corporation. Marron listened intently, not wanting to unintentionally cause problems, and stumbled over her feet when Beth said, "Groceries are delivered every Thursday at noon, so we ask that someone always be in the room to answer the door." _Groceries were delivered_ rang over and over in Marron's head as she followed her. When they suddenly stopped and the woman opened a door, Marron thought perhaps she should have been paying attention to exactly how they had managed to get here. Beth entered, but Marron hung back for a moment. 237 read the numbers on the door. Her heart lifted, Kiyoshi and she had a room, a place to stay for a while. Taking a deep breath, she crossed the threshold and made a prayer. _Please, Kami, just let us be safe for a while._

"All rooms on this floor consist of single family units," Beth said once Marron had joined her in what appeared to be a small dining area. "The front door opens up to a small dining area and kitchen, and straight beyond that," Beth pointed toward the adjoining room, "is the bedroom. That door leads to the full bath." She turned to face Marron, smiling. "The phone book on your nightstand lists the numbers to reach should you need anything, so please do not hesitate to ask. The dressers have been filled with the correct clothing sizes you listed on your application, and the fridge as been restocked. Do you require anything else, Miss Marron?"

Marron, a bit shocked, could only shake her head.

"Alright then, I will leave your key here on the table. It was a pleasure to meet you." Beth turned and left the room, closing the door behind her, and Marron could only stand there and take everything in. The room, though not the largest by any means, was wonderful. She felt tears sting her eyes and blinked furiously, trying to keep them at bay.

Sitting Kiyoshi down on the floor, Marron crossed into the small kitchen and, holding her breath, pulled open the fridge. The tears she had been trying to withhold came spilling forward at the sight of its contents, and her stomach gave a knowing growl. "We eat?" Kiyoshi asked, peering around her leg into the fridge just as Marron did. The sound that escaped her lips was not a sob, but a gleeful laugh.

"Yes Kiyoshi, we eat!" She set about looking through the cupboards and locating a frying pan and a rice cooker. In her search she had stumbled upon the pantry, which had forced another happy sound from her lips, and from it she pulled a bag of rice from the shelf and set it to cook. Turning toward the little boy who had sat down on the floor to watch her, nibbling on a piece of celery, Marron grinned. "Rice takes a little while, so why don't we go and look at the bathroom?" When he stood up, she took his hand and lead him into the other room, and then to the door that lead to the bathroom. With a deep breath she twisted the knob and pushed the door open, and a wide grin took over her face. It had been so long since she had had an actual bath. "What do you say, kiddo, should be take a quick bath before we eat?"

Kiyoshi shook his head no, which made Marron laugh, but she picked him up anyways and walked into the bathroom. "The rice really does take a while, little one, so why don't we clean up a little bit first while we wait?" She sat him down on the toilet as she started the bath water, testing it to make sure it wasn't too hot for him. Once it was filled, she turned around and stripped him first of the jean jacket, and then his under pants. She blobbed him into the tub with a small splash. Getting undressed, she climbed in beside him and begun scrubbing the dirt from his tiny body as he splashed and kicked about. Filling her hands with soap, she washed his hair, and was careful not to get any in his eyes. When she deemed him clean enough she stood and wrapped a towel around his tiny frame and then, dripping water as she walked, she set him down on the bed.

"Give Marron a few minutes and then I will finish cooking, okay?" She quickly returned to the bathroom and let the water out of the tub before starting the shower. She pulled the ponytails from her hair and brushed it out with the hairbrush that was set to one side of the counter, with all sorts of other personal hygiene items. Once she had finished she stepped under the spray of the shower and began to thoroughly clean the layers of dirt off her body. It had been so long since she had been able to actual shower that she had forgotten what it felt like to feel completely clean, and she relished in the feeling as she switched off the water and wrapped herself in a large towel. Closing the bathroom door behind her as she existed, she smiled as she found Kiyoshi, butt naked, looking out the window. "Silly guy, you can't run around the house naked! There is probably a rule against that." Sweeping him up off the ground, she set him back on the bed just as the rice cooker began to steam.

"Oh, rice is done!" She tapped the tip of his nose before walking back into the kitchen and turning off the burner. She hummed as she moved the pot to the counter and was unable to remember the last time she had felt so happy cooking. Stirring the rice so that it wouldn't clump, she put the lid back on and turned back toward the oven, flipping on the burner under the frying pan. She found a bag of precut mixed vegetables in the fridge as well as several sliced chicken breasts pieces. Dumping a quarter of the vegetables into the pan, she stirred it once before adding the chicken and heading back into the bedroom.

"How about we see about some clothes, least someone comes up to check the 'no walking around nude' rule, huh Kiyoshi?" She grinned when he came running over to her side. It had been a long time since she had felt so at ease. Picking him up, she twirled him around on her hip before crossing to the dresser on the other side of the bed. Pulling open a drawer, she found clothing she suspected was for her, and quickly rustled through it until she had found a pair of cloth pajama's. She tossed them on the bed and kept searching; she found underwear and socks for both of them before she came to the set of drawer's set aside for Kiyoshi. She found a pair of blue pajama's with rocket ships on them and offered them to him for inspection, "What do you think, little one, do you think these will make you look handsome?"

"Kiyoshi very handsome," He said with a quick nod, and Marron laughed.

"Yes, he most certainly is, especially when he is so clean!" She quickly set about dressing the both of them, and when she had finished she picked him up off the bed and carried him into the kitchen. She sat him down in a chair, ran her hand through his wet black hair, and then crossed to the kitchen. She stirred the veggies and chicken, and though she noticed she had taken too long dressing them and the vegetables were slightly over cooked, she didn't really care. They were clean, dressed, and were about to have a full stomach. She truly couldn't have asked for more. Spooning rice onto two plates, she covered them with two generous helpings of stir fry, though hers was slightly larger, and then returned to Kiyoshi at the table, setting the plate down in front of him with a spoon. He immediately sat to work about eating, and Marron, sliding into a chair beside him, followed suit.

* * *

><p>Marron finished off her plate, surprised she had managed to eat the entire thing. She felt full, completely, utterly full, for the first time in a very long time. Sighing contently, she glanced over at the little boy beside her and smiled. Most of his food was gone as well, and his head was lolling slightly to one side as he desperately attempted to stay awake. "I think its bed time, Kiyoshi. Why don't you go lay down while I put this all away, okay?" Picking him up out of his chair, she set him on the ground and watched as he walked tiredly into the bedroom. Marron smiled before turning back toward the table and collecting their plates. She placed them in the sink before turning back to the left over's of their dinner. Putting the rice in a sealed container along with the remainder of the vegetables, she put it in the fridge. Looking at the dishes, she truly did not have the strength to do them tonight. Soaking the rice cooker, she placed the two plates inside of it, and then the frying pan on top, and filled it with water as well. That would have to do for tonight, she thought with a tired shake of her head, and flicked the lights off as she walked back into the bedroom.<p>

"Go potty Kiyoshi," Marron said, as her mother had often said to her before putting her to bed. He followed her into the bedroom, and she could tell he was running on low. She helped him with his pants and set him on the toilet. While she waited for him she turned to the mirror and glanced at her reflection. The right side of her face was bruised where she had been punched yesterday, and, lifting her shirt, she noted several bruises to her stomach and back as well. No bruising around her ribs, however, so she noted this as a good sign. She had other scraps and cuts, mostly from rocks that had nipped her here and there when he had elbowed her in the back and practically buried her in the ground. There was no point in trying to doctor any of the cuts, she noted, as they had already scabbed over and were trying to heal.

"Done," Kiyoshi muttered tiredly, and Marron stood him up and set his pants back to rights. Picking him up, she carried him from the bathroom, stopping only to turn the light off as they left. She would leave the door open in case he had to pee in the middle of the night. Laying him down on the bed, she pulled the covers over him and watched as he rolled onto his side, finding a comfortable spot. She looked down at him for a moment, happy that he was happy and clean and full. She hadn't known this little boy very long but somehow he had crawled into her heart and set down roots. She glanced once more around the room, trying to figure if there was anything else that she possibly needed to do. Then, suddenly, she walked quickly into the dining area and flicked on the light, snatched the key off the table, and locked the door. She doubted that would keep her devil out, but it somehow still made her feel slightly better. Turning off the light, she walked back into the bedroom and, turning that light off as well, climbed into bed beside Kiyoshi.

* * *

><p>Trunks rolled his shoulders, feeling the stiffness creep into his muscles. He had spent the entirety of last night and today searching for the damn offspring of the blonde android. She had been in his grasps, there had been no way for her to escape, and then that damn blinding light, he didn't understand. He hadn't been able to see right for several minutes afterwards, and when he could finally make out enough around him, he realized she was gone, along with her ki. He couldn't feel her, had no idea where she had disappeared to. He had searched that entire city over and he had found nothing, absolutely nothing. His only thought was that she must have left Satan City, and tomorrow he would begin looking for her in the surrounding areas. He would find her, and kill her, before she could continue where her mother and uncle had left off. Then, and then only, could they truly begin to rebuild this world.<p>

Landing softly on the balcony outside his room, he pushed open the glass door and silently closed it behind him, not wanting to wake his mother, let alone face her wrath. She hated it when he stayed out all night without checking in with her, but he had been so close to that damn girl! His fists balled, and he could feel his power rising as his anger rose. He didn't know how she did it, but somehow she always managed to get away from him, to better him somehow. It made no sense… he had taken Juuhachi and Juunanagou quickly when he had fought them at their mountain retreat after returning from the past. Once he had managed to go SSJ, over powering the both of them had been easy. The only reason that girl had gotten away in the first place was because he had been so shocked to learn the android Juuhachi and given birth to a daughter. He hadn't even know it was possible, but when he had informed his mother, she had told him the androids had once been human, and still remained a great deal of their human parts. They were enhanced, but not changed completely. He had wondered idly if they had retained their hearts, but doubted it quite thoroughly. There was no way they had hearts with what they were capable of doing.

Lost in his thoughts Trunks didn't hear Bulma open his bedroom door. She stood in his doorway, her hand resting on the knob, and took in the sight of her son. _He has grown so much over the years_, she thought, _especially after he came back from the past_. He had come back a changed person, more grown up, more certain of himself and who he was. Drawing in a deep breath, she forced the smile from her face and fixed her son with a glare, "Trunks Briefs! How dare you not come home last night, you know it is the one that I ask of you! Sitting at home, wringing my hands together, worrying that my only child might be out there, hurt, and that there is nothing I can possibly do to help him!"

Trunks turned at the sound of his mother's voice, merely lifting a purple eyebrow at her heated speech. He knew his mother far better than anyone else. "You're not the type to wring your hands together, mom," Trunks muttered as he slid out of his jacket and tossed it on the bed, "and you're most definitely not the type to sit at home and do nothing. I'm sure if you thought I was in any actual danger you would have came looking for me, even though it would be extremely foolish of you. You know I can take care of myself."

Bulma harrumphed, her arms crossing over her chest, "You listen to me Trunks, if I wanted to help you, you had better know I would be more then capable to do so. Just because I'm not some highly conceited Saiyan like your father was doesn't mean I don't have my worth. You wouldn't have even gone back to the past if I hadn't of built the time machine, and while you're out there doing only Kami knows what, I am here at home, trying to rebuild this world. I have put everything we have into trying to help these people, to try and help them find some type of normal life after the android attacks, and Kami knows I could use your help here rather than chasing some girl around the world!"

"She's the daughter of an android, mother," Trunks growled, pulling the ponytail from his hair out and giving it a shake, "if I don't find her we have no idea what will happen, no idea what she is capable of."

Bulma frowned, shaking her head, "Well, tell me how she got away this time."

Trunks frowned, his brows furrowing, "Some type of light… solar flare or something…" He wasn't thinking about that anymore though, his mind was racing. He could feel her ki. He had never been able to feel her ki this close before, not until he was within range to see her… Could she have possibly come here, looking for him? Trunks thought of all the innocent people that were living here, the families that were simply trying to build a future. His muscles bulged as he powered up, his anger and his power level rising at the same time.

"Solar Flare?" Bulma said, her eyes going a bit wide, "Didn't you say her last attack was Destructo Disk…?" She glanced back to her son and was snapped out of her thoughts. "Trunks, what's wrong, what are you doing?"

"She's here," was all he said, and rushed past her out the door way, running down the hallway toward the other end of the compound that housed the families, Bulma chasing him the entire way.

* * *

><p>Marron awake to the sound of a heated argument outside her door, her heart beating at a dangerous speed as panic welled in her chest. That voice. She knew that voice, had grown to fear it, and could pick it out of a hundred people speaking at once. The devil had found her. Panic ripped her, rendering her motionless, her head half off her pillow, her mouth open in a silent scream. She didn't know what to do, didn't know what she could possibly do to change the situation in her favor. They were three or four stories up, and the only exit was the one he was standing outside of. She felt something move against her side and jerked back, then suddenly seemed to remember Kiyoshi. She looked down into his sleeping face and her heart broke. She didn't know what to do to protect him.<p>

Standing, she reached down and gathered him against her chest, her heart aching when his small head nestled into the nook of her shoulder and he snuggled closer to her. _I'm so sorry, Kiyoshi_, Marron thought with a bitter taste in her mouth, _so sorry I got you in this mess_. She glanced around the room, trying to think of a plan, but there was nothing – there was nowhere in this small room to hide, and she couldn't fight him with Kiyoshi this close. She did the only thing she could possibly think, and quickly she moved into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She knew this was no safer than being out there, but somehow she simply needed to be behind the extra lock. With nowhere else to go she slid down between the counter and the toilet and turned her body so Kiyoshi was protected, shielded, and prayed that he would be sheltered from the worst of the onslaught by her body.

* * *

><p>Bulma had rounded on her son the moment he had stopped in the hallway, grabbing his shoulder and yanking him as hard as she could to face her. She knew he could have very well ignored her, could have simply shrugged off her hand and broke the door down, as he very much wanted to do right now, but she was trying to avoid a catastrophe. "Just hold on a moment while I bring up the file," She muttered as Trunks glowered at her, his anger practically seething off him in ripples. "Just busting into someone's home isn't going to solve anything, and if you had been wrong, you could scare those poor people to death, Trunks." She was holding a ten by seven flat machine that looked like a miniature computer screen, and was typing into the small keyboard at the bottom, bringing up several files.<p>

"Room 237 is occupied by a Marron, approximately age 20, and a Kiyoshi, approximately age three. They came in this evening, Trunks, and from the look of these photos, I can't possibly see how you could think this was the girl you were looking for. They look practically starved." Bulma held out the tablet to her son, her face stern. It was in the middle of the night and most of the people staying at Capsule Corporation had already lived in fear. She did not need her son going around blowing up units and causing her guests to panic.

Trunks took the tablet from his mother and tried to force himself to calm down, but despite what is mother said, he was sure he could feel her ki, and that it was coming from somewhere within that room. He flipped through the information quickly simply because there was very little to actually read, scrolling down until he came onto the pictures that were taken of each resident so that Bulma could keep track of everyone. When you were constantly moving in and out people, she had learned photos were the easiest way to keep track of who was who, especially when so many people had only first names. It only took once glance at the picture, however, to know he had been correct. The girl he had been chasing was in that room, and somehow along the lines, she had picked up an innocent child. Kami only knew what she was doing with him! Trunks let the tablet drop to the ground, completely forgetting it and the fact that his mother had personally made that for herself. This time he didn't give his mother time to stop him, he simply kicked in the door to 237 and entered the darkened room.

"Trunks!" Bulma screamed, following her son into the room.

"Get out of here, mother!"

"Don't you dare try and boss me around—"

"Mother!"

"This is my home, Trunks, and I will not have you going around terrorizing innocent people. I don't know what you think you're doing, but you can't possibly think that this young girl is the same one you're chasing." Bulma flicked on the light when her son did not, illuminating the dining area and kitchen so that she could see.

"I don't think; I know she is." Trunks turned around to his mother, his eyes narrowed, "Get out, mother, get everyone out of here. I don't know what she's capable of!"

Just then a child started to cry, loudly, obviously frightened, and both Trunks and Bulma turned toward the darkened bedroom. Trunks took a step, hesitant, wondering if he could be wrong, if somehow he was wrong, and Bulma took that chance to rush into the room ahead of him and flick on the fight. She heard him curse behind her, but she ignored him, her eyes frantically moving around the small room. The bed was unmade but she could still see the impressions they had left on the mattress. Following the soft crying, she was about to open the bathroom door when Trunks pulled her away and jerked the knob, breaking the lock. It swung open as he let go, and Bulma reached inside and quickly flicked on the light.

Trunks saw them first, huddled together beside the counter, the woman's blonde head bowed over the crying child, both of them shaking. He should have felt shame for scaring these people, but Trunks did not. Reaching down, he grabbed the woman by the back of her pajama shirt and yanked her up off the ground as Bulma gasped.

"Trunks, you can't just—" Bulma shut her mouth at the glare he gave her, but crossed her arms over her chest to let him know she was extremely displeased with his behavior.

* * *

><p>Marron felt a scream lodge in her throat when she was jerked backwards. She had been trying to shush Kiyoshi when the two people behind her had broken into the bathroom. He had heard them screaming and had awoken, scared and unsure why he was not safe and snug in the bed he had fallen asleep in. Forced back so suddenly, her arms around Kiyoshi slipped, and the little boy dropped from her arms and landed on the floor where the two of them had been hunched a moment before. Scared, though not really hurt, he started crying even louder, his large dark eyes welling up with tears and spilling over his soft cheeks.<p>

Marron's eyes went wide but she couldn't scream, the air having been sucked from her when she had been jerked, no better than a rag doll, into the air. She was suspended by the back of her top, the neck of it digging into the soft skin of her throat. She tried to draw in a breath, tried to force her mind to focus through the panic. She couldn't just stand here and let this man kill her, not while she had Kiyoshi to protect. "R-r-rrrunnn, Kiii—" Marron couldn't finish her sentence because she was suddenly sent flying back through the doorway of the bathroom, crashing into the wall beside the bed they had only moments ago been sleeping in and crumbling to the floor. She hoped, as her head ricocheted off the wall, that he had understood her.

As soon as she had begun to speak Trunks had flung her into the other room, not giving her the time to summon whatever attack she had been about to say. He was not going to allow her to best him this time, not going to allow her to get away. He heard his mother gasp as the girl hit the wall, but he ignored her and the fact that she screamed his name, ignored everything but the android child that had eluded him for far too long. He started out of the bathroom after her when something small shot past his legs. Looking down, he saw the child run into the room and reached out to pull him back, but the little tyke moved faster than Trunks had anticipated and his fingers only brushed the back of his pajamas.

"Marrooo, Marrrooo!" The child wailed as he fell to the floor in front of the woman and tried to climb into her lap, burying his face in her chest. "Marroooo!"

In her son's moment of hesitation Bulma too tried to rushed to the young woman's side, but Trunks flung out his arm and held her back. "Trunks," she said furiously, "let me by!"

Before the two of them could begin another argument, however, Marron regained what little was left of her mind and tried to sit up despite the pain in her head and back. "I'm so sorry," she muttered, picking up Kiyoshi and hugging him close to her, "I'm so sorry for whatever it was I did to you! I truly didn't mean to, but please don't hurt him. Please, I promise not to fight if you will please just… _just don't hurt him!_" She buried her head in the small nook of his shoulder, muttering incoherent soothing words to him as he clung to her, crying. Running her hand along his back, she tried to stand, slipped, and then finally regained her footing. Trying to stand as straight as she could, she set Kiyoshi on the bed, having to pry his small hands from where he clung to her shirt open, and then turned toward the two who waited on the other side of the room.

He could feel Kiyoshi's hand reach out for her own, and it took everything inside her not to take hold of it. Lifting sad, blue eyes, so much like her mothers, she gazed at the two people before her. "I'll do whatever you want, so please…"

Trunks had never actually taken the time to look at the person he was chasing. To him, she had neither been male nor female. She had simply been the offspring of an android, of someone who had murdered and terrorized his world for as long as he could remember. Looking at her now, with his mothers arm wrapped around his own, as if she was trying to hold him back from attacking her, he gave himself just a moment to take it all in. She stood no taller than his chin, perhaps his shoulder, he could not be sure, and looking at her now, he could tell she looked a great deal younger then the supposed 20 years of age. She was tiny, he realized, in just about every way. He didn't know what it was he was feeling, but he had a sinking idea that it might be shame, and he had no idea why. He had the right to hunt down and kill this girl after what her mother had done, after what her mother and uncle had taken from him and this world.

"You are Juuhachi's daughter?" Bulma spoke into the silence, feeling her son's muscles flex and grow under her very hands. She didn't know what it was, but something about the girl in front of her was so familiar. She couldn't place it, but it was as if she had seen her before… somewhere, and it wasn't because she resembled her mother.

"My…mama?" Marron could feel her body shaking, and she wasn't sure if it was from pain or fear. "Yes, but… but why does that matter?"

"She was an android!" Trunks all but roared, and Bulma tightened her arms around his, trying to desperately hold him back even if she knew she would never be able to. If Trunks wanted to attack this young girl, she would be unable to stop him.

Marron jerked back as if she had been slapped, her eyes going wide. Her mother was _not_ an android, she was not one of those things the people she had met feared, one of those things that had literally destroyed most of this world. "No! My mother was not what you're saying she was! She would never have hurt anyone, she was… so loving and she cared for me! She read to me and taught me and protected me, my mother would never have done any of those horrible things those… those _things_ did!" Tears stained her cheeks and she shook her head venomously, refusing to believe them.

"Your mother murdered hundreds of thousands of people, she destroyed lives, villages, and towns… everything her and her brother touched were ruined. They were monsters." Each word was like a physical blow to Marron.

"How dare you! How dare you talk about my mother like that!" Marron could feel her ki rising, but she couldn't control it. She felt like she had no control over her emotions. She was scared, and sad, and upset, and so angry…

"Trunks, please," Bulma pulled on her son's arm, trying to get him to listen to her, "Please let me try to calm her down. Let me explain everything to her, you're not helping the situation at all yelling at her, throwing around accusations. We have no idea of how she lived, we did not even know she existed until you, well," her gaze flickered to Marron for a moment and then back to Trunks, "Until you came back from the past." She had been about to say until he had killed her mother and uncle, but Bulma thought perhaps she best not mention that fact. Though everyone in the room knew Trunks had taken their lives, she didn't believe it was a good idea to remind the girl of that fact right now.

Trunks pulled his arms from his mothers grasp, but instead of going after the woman, he crossed them over his chest and waited for his mother to do whatever it was she thought was necessary. He didn't want to make a mistake and kill an innocent person, and he wasn't so sure of himself that she was evil any longer. The fact that her ki was rising was alarming to him, but he would simply watch for now. If she made a move, he would end her life without so much of a second thought. His mother was worth more to him then finding out whether this girl was a monster like her mother or not.

Bulma stepped in front of her son and held up the minicomputer she had been using before they had broken into 237. "I invented this a long time ago, to store all the files I needed when I wasn't at home, and soon it became so useful, I started using it a great deal more than my actual computer." Her smile titled, tipping at the corners, a sad note entering her voice. "I have video footage on here from a long time ago, when the androids were first awakened. My friends," She had to pause to swallow a lump that appeared in her throat, "they tried to stop them, but no matter how hard they fought, they lost." She was fiddling with the machine as she talked, typing in commands and searching different folders. It had been a long time since she had been able to view these files. A video suddenly appeared on the small screen, and Bulma held the computer out for Marron, a small tremor in her hand.

Marron hesitated at first, not sure at what she was going to see, and not sure she wanted to see it at all. By this point Kiyoshi had crawled down from the bed and had wrapped his arms around one of her legs, refusing to leave her side. Glancing down at the screen, Marron finally reached out her own hand and retrieved the item. To her it seemed only like a picture and not a video. Confused, she looked back up at the woman with the teal hair and frowned, uncertain.

"Oh, I'm sorry, here. I forget sometimes not everyone remembers how to use these things, or that they were never taught to." She walked a little closer and reached over the screen, hitting the play button. The picture immediately came alive. Marron stared down at it for a moment, watching as people she had never seen before started powering up. She noticed most of them looked a great deal alike, with their black, spiked hair. Then suddenly the fight began, and it was hard to follow at first and… yes, there, she could make out the form of her mother; her blonde hair, her beautiful face, and her uncle, who looked exactly like her mother but darker. She watched as her family tore through the other fighters, leaving them broken and damaged. It became hard to see after a few moments, her eyes blurred with tears. When she couldn't take any more of the images she dropped the computer and covered her mouth with her hands, trying to stifle the gut wrenching sobs that tore through her throat.

Her mother had been a killer. She had been…she had been an android, one of those monsters that the people she had encountered feared. Her mother, who had tucked her into bed each night, who had bathed and cared for her with such gentleness, had terrorized the people of earth. She sat down on the bed because she could no longer hold herself up, and Kiyoshi, unsure as to what was happening but wanting to comfort her, climbed to her lap and wrapped his small arms around her stomach. "M-m-my mother…my mother m-m-murdered all those pe-pe-people?"

Bulma leaned over and picked up the minicomputer as she had once before this evening, deciding she was rather happy she had made it so durable, and turned back toward the young woman now sitting on the bed. "Yes," she said simply, thinking it best to be frank now then to try and soothe the young girl. Her mother had done horrible things, and it was time she begun to realize that. Only then could she truly understand her son's actions. "Your mother was created by someone seeking revenge. She had destroyed because that was what she was programmed to do. The fact that she was able to give birth to a child is nothing short of a miracle, the fact that she…that she raised you, well, I must say is quite amazing. I would not have thought it was possible for them to feel affection for someone other than each other. It is rather astounding."

"My mother loved me," Marron wrapped her arms around Kiyoshi, burying her face in his sweet smelling hair; "I know she loved me."

"Are you telling me," Trunks said between clenched teeth, "that you had no idea what your mother and uncle were? What they would just leave you up there in that house and go around killing people, and that you had no idea what they were doing?"

Marron stood up, anger shooting through her, her arms holding Kiyoshi to her, "They had been doing it since I was a baby! I never could have guessed what they were doing! How could I have ever known! They would leave and come back with food and clothes, I only ever thought they had left to go get them! I never left that mountain; I never even saw other people until you forced me to runaway!"

"I think," Bulma said, once more stepping into the fray, "that perhaps we had best call it an evening. It is rather late, or should I be saying early now, and I believe there are other families in this building that would like to get back to sleep."

Trunks seemed to remember where he was and backed down. This was his home, and he had come up here for the purpose of protecting the people his mother and him took care of, not to frighten them.

"We'll talk again in the morning," he turned to walk away, but suddenly he turned around, his eyes narrowing, "and if you try and leave, the next time we meet I will not be so understanding."

Bulma watched her son walk out of the room and clucked her tongue, "He's so much like his father sometimes and it truly worries me." Turning back to the girl, she offered a smile. "My name is Bulma Briefs, and that rather large oaf is my son, Trunks. Please don't think ill of us for our rude behavior this evening. A lot has happened, and I am afraid we're rather weary when it comes to the androids." With a sad shake of her head the woman followed her son out of the room.

Marron, shaking, dropped back onto the bed and sat, trying to understand her mother, trying to understand her past, and trying desperately to fight her urge to run far, far away.


End file.
